The invention relates to installations for burning carbon-containing matter, e.g. fossil fuels or waste, in a hearth, in particular a hearth operating as a fluidized bed. More particularly, it relates to a method of reducing both carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and also sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions in the flue gases produced by this type of installation.
It is known that the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal or waste produces gaseous emissions of CO2 and of SO2, and that injecting calcium carbonate (CaCO3) into the hearth makes it possible to reduce SO2 emissions in situ. Unfortunately, such reduction in SO2 is accompanied by production of CO2 in addition to the CO2 coming from the combustion of the carbon-containing matter. CO2 is a xe2x80x9cgreenhousexe2x80x9d gas which would appear to contribute to global warming.
In addition, injecting calcium carbonate for desulfurizing the flue gases suffers from the drawback of producing, in the hearth, a large quantity of ash that is too rich in calcium sulfate (CaSO4) and in lime (CaO) to be easy to recycle.
An object of the invention is to remedy those drawbacks.
To this end, the invention provides a method of simultaneously reducing carbon dioxide emissions and sulfur dioxide emissions produced by the combustion of carbon-containing matter in a hearth, said method consisting in injecting into the hearth a calcium-based agent, a fraction of which absorbs SO2 after decarbonization, and then, after the flue gases have been subjected to intermediate cooling, in causing them to transit via a first reactor and in putting them in contact therein with the other fraction of the absorbant that has not reacted with SO2 so as to capture CO2 from the flue gases by carbonization, then, in a separator, in extracting the solids contained in the flue gases output from the first reactor so as to subject them to heat treatment in a second reactor in order to extract CO2 therefrom by decarbonization and in order to recycle the resulting regenerated CO2 absorbent to the first reactor.